| Chapter : | Introduction |
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Indeed, what needs to be problematized is the question of what is suppressed and denied when research describes and limits Jin Yong’s writing within the category of popular literature. However, it is also very problematic if we simply promote his writing to the level of pure literature. In the article “Transcending ‘High/Low’ Distinctions in Literature,” Chen Pingyuan points out that Jin Yong’s multiple roles—writer, political critic, editor, and entrepreneur—have complicated the study of popular literature. The traditional idea of popular culture only regards martial arts novels as public entertainment, but Jin Yong’s multiple roles, which encourage the reproduction and circulation of his novels, have forcefully transformed his writing into a means by which public space is constituted and shaped.
In his research on Jin Yong’s efforts to canonize his martial arts novels, Li Yijian introduces readers to the ambivalent position of Jin Yong in popular culture. Since martial arts novels in original form first appeared as serial fiction in newspapers, produced daily and meant to cater to mass interest, Jin Yong’s ten-year revision of the original form successfully canonized his novels. Taking different cultural forms into consideration, Li Yijian focuses on the process of production and reproduction of martial arts novels, through which he redefines the notion of canonization.
As the author of Paper Swordsmen: Jin Yong and Modern Chinese Martial Arts Novels, the first single authored book on the study of Jin Yong’s fiction in English, Chris Hamm set the foundation for Jinology in the Western academic world. His article in our collection examines the often undervalued novel Song of the Swordsmen (Xiake xing), which revitalizes Chinese cultural heritage and retreats from political history. By doing so, Hamm addresses a thematic concern that runs through most of Jin Yong’s novels.